Welcome from Artistic Director Barbara Gaines

Some might say that Shakespeare’s place in the school curriculum makes our work in education critical, as we offer an unparalleled set of tools to teachers and their students. But for me the most important reason for our work in education is this: I truly believe that anyone who opens himself to Shakespeare will develop a greater capacity for sympathy for his fellow man. That is why our work with students is imperative.

I can never predict what a student—or any other audience member—will take home with them: if I want them to remember this, they’ll remember that... I hope regardless that a profound imprint is made, that something in their lives connects them to this play—whether it’s falling in love, or the experience of being rejected, or if it is simply the reverberation of the joy of language. What I desire most is that a person feels less alone in the world when they leave our theater than they felt as they walked in. As Shakespeare touches a heart, he connects us to a vast community of humanity, a community that has no boundaries.